Horror Show Friday: Hanging Poets

This idea was sent in by reader Bill Tomlinson. Thanks a lot for your suggestion, Bill, I appreciate your sharp eye on this story. For anyone else who finds a story that I haven’t done, and honestly, since I have so many on the back burner, I might, feel free to send them to Bitchspot (at) JadeDragonOnline.com. I’ll certainly credit you for anything that you find!

According to Radio Free Europe, Iranian poet and activist Hashem Shaabani was executed in Iran by direct order of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal sentenced Shaabani and 14 others to death in a mock trial, on charges that included Moharebeh or “waging war on God”. All were hanged until dead following approval of Rouhani and all were reported to have been severely beaten and tortured during their interrogation. The execution, which occurred on January 29, 2014, violated even Iran’s legal requirements of informing the families and lawyers before the sentence was carried out.

Iran has stepped up it’s attacks on their local Ahwazi Arab population, to which Shaabani belonged, arresting them en masse and handing down severe sentences, often in closed-door court sessions.

Justice for Iran, an Iranian human rights organization, described Shaabani as married, had a three-year-old daughter and was studying for a master’s degree in politics from Ahwaz University prior to his arrest. He provided a televised confession that was almost certainly extracted under torture, something unfortunately common in Iran. The number of religiously-mandated executions has spiked in Iran in recent years, even under the supposedly moderate Rouhani regime. It’s really no surprise given the strength of fundamentalist Muslim belief prevalent in Iran. How many more have to die because of the crazy religious beliefs of the majority?

So does anyone want to say that religion doesn’t hurt anyone? Really? I guess this is a perfect story for Horror Show Friday as we near the end of Religious Horror Show Week.

Cephus,
I have watched with mild curiosity events unfolding on the Wednesday Thread; with Wee, and Roger, and a couple new folks, Trustfunded and PoofAgain.

Roger certainly could pass for an Iranian Religious zealot.

………and they wonder why Christians get bad names.

Pay and Pray.
He probably sits right in the front pew, with a Bible on one knee and a Hymnal on the other. Sitting there, centered, with his unclean, and unpure, and vile misogynistic thoughts front and center. Thinking about women and all of the things he wants to say and do to them………..